Nursing in Public: You Can Do It On a Train, You Can Do It On a Plane...

February 25, 2016

You can do it in a car, you can do it in a restaurant with your husband and in-laws. I'm talking about breastfeeding in public – what are you talking about?

I wondered how I would handle things once my daughter was born – whether I would be one of those people who would obsessively keep myself under wraps or if I'd be the one who could care less. Turns out, I fall somewhere in the middle. I've nursed her in every room of our house with my parents and in-laws present and I've had lactation consultants manhandle my breasts without so much as a blink, yet I make sure I'm covered up when I nurse in public.

My husband has been surprisingly supportive. Initially, he was concerned that strangers would be overly interested in getting a peek behind the curtain. But now that she's here, he even helps with draping me and getting her latched! I received a million blankets at my baby showers and I grab one of the larger ones to throw over my shoulder whenever it's time to eat.

I've also taken to dressing for easy access. Tank tops and cardigans are my new uniform – if I should ever forget to bring a blanket, my cardigan will do in a pinch. But that's only in public. At home, I don't cover up even though I've gotten proficient at only displaying the bare necessities. When you're nursing every two hours, you tend to only expose the essentials so you don't have to bother with fully undressing and dressing every time the baby cries.

Although I've become quite comfortable nursing in public, I doubt I'll ever be able to go without a blanket or a strategically placed cardigan. It's like overly enthusiastic PDA – past a certain point, you roll your eyes and go, 'we get it, you like each other!' I'll feed my daughter at any time in any place, but I don't need to broadcast it to everyone within leering distance. Besides, that time is for me and my daughter – my husband is the only one who gets into that inner circle!

Now that I'm a mother, my main priority is feeding my daughter. Nothing is more important than that, and I certainly can't be bothered with what a stranger thinks is proper. I'm too preoccupied with getting her latched and making sure she's well positioned and swallowing. All the rest is just details.